Just Give Me A Reason
by RainbowHoboMustache
Summary: Taking place at the end of Catching Fire. Peeta isn't captured by the Capital. Will this change Gale and Katniss' relationship? Will Katniss finally admit her feelings to Peeta? This a complete re-telling of Mockingjay.
1. Chapter 1

I wake up in a cold room. I look at the white ceiling groggily. The last thing I remember is being in the arena when it exploded. I sit up frantically but almost immediately lay back down when my head starts to hurt. I look over to my right and see Beetee laying unconscious. Panic engulfs me. Where are we?

I notice that we appear to be in a hovercraft. You can tell because the doors have an airtight seal to them. Slowly this time, I get up and make my way to the door. I quietly press the button and the door opens with a slight whoosh.

I peek out into the hall and see no one. Deciding its safe I make my way down the hall. When I get near the end I hear some muffled voices.

"When do you think we should tell her?" I hear a voice say, I immediately can tell that its Finnick. I press my ear to the door I hear it coming from.

"When the time is right" I hear another voice say. Its Haymitch. Suspecting its safe I walk into the room. Everyone looks at me with surprise.

"Well, look who's finally up?" he says sarcastically. I look around the room and see Johanna. Wheres Peeta?

"Wheres Peeta?" I ask concerned. Haymitch lets out a laugh.

"Whats so funny?" I ask then add, "I asked, where is he?"

"Oh" Haymitch says as he tries to calm himself down, "Its funny because you are so worried about him, when you don't even care about him."

"I do care for him! Finnick?" I prod. He looks shocked for a moment. He sighs deeply.

"Actually…." Finnick starts, but I cut him off.

"Did the Capital take him?" I ask worriedly. Everyones quiet for a moment. I assume the worst and sink down onto the floor.

"Don't worry brainless" Johanna says, "he's here and he's not dead." I let out an audible breath.

"Then where is he?" I ask threateningly. The door is opened from behind me.

"Wheres who?" a familiar voice asks me. I turn around and see Peeta. I throw my arms around him and catch him off guard. He falls over and hits the wall. He slides to the ground and i wrap my arms around him again.

"Oh my gosh!" I yell, "I thought you were dead!" I start sobbing into his shirt. This is so unlike me. Peeta wraps his arms around me.

"Its ok Katniss" he whispers soothingly in my ear, "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. Shhhhhhh." He rocks me back and forth on the floor, momentarily forgetting we have an audience.

"Why did you leave me?" I whimper. He rests his chin on the top of my head.

"That was a part of the plan I guess" he tells me in a soothing voice. I look up alarmed. What plan?

"What plan?" I ask and then think for a moment, "and where are we going?"

"District 13" Haymitch answers causally, like its something that I should know.

"There is no District 13" I say. Everyone but Peeta laughs at me.

"Katniss" Finnick tells me, "when the Capital bombed 13 the survivors built a community underground. They have been living there untouched by the Capital for 75 years." I try to take in all of this new information. They have been living their lives without worrying about the Capital or the Hunger Games? How could they just leave us on our own.

"Now," Haymitch says pulling me from my thoughts, "we should be arriving shortly. So, enjoy the flight and I will come get you when we get there. I nod into Peetas chest. Haymitch walks out of the room followed by Finnick and Johanna. Peeta and I sit there in quiet.

"Why were you so worried?" Peeta asks breaking the quietness. I sigh into his chest and look up to him.

"I was afraid the Capital took you" I tell him honestly, "what happened after I blacked out?" He smiles at me and I can't help it, I kiss him softly on the lips.

"Well, I found you laying on the ground after the lightning hit the tree, you were passed out" Peeta tells me, I nod for him to continue, "I picked you up and walked around until I found Finnick holding a passed out Beetee and Johanna." I look back up to him.

"So, they plan was to get us out alive?" I ask unsurely. Peeta nods his head. I kiss the bottom of his jaw and laid my head back down on his chest. "I'm so glad that your here right now" I tell him in a shaky voice. He sighs.

"There are no Capital cameras in here" Peeta tells me, "you don't need to pretend anymore." My heart practically shatters.

"I'm not pretending Peeta" I tell him honestly, hoping he will believe me. He lets out a shaky breath.

"Really?" he asks. I nod.

"Really" I tell him simply.

**I really suck at writing so please don't make the reviews too bad! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry the last chapter was so short. It was kind of letting you know what was happening. The rest will be better. Also, thanks mewmew7869. Thats exactly what I was thinking. Yesterday I watched Catching Fire and it made me want to do this! Thanks everyone! Please keep reviewing!**

In a few short hours we make it to District 13. I don't even dare look out the windows. I don't want to see the place anyway.

Peeta holds my hand the whole time. Even though I don't deserve it. He has been nice to me the whole trip and I don't deserve that either. I don't object, I was too worried about him to do anything except be near him and to know he's okay.

"Welcome to District 13" a voice said over the announcer. Peeta grips my hand tighter.

"Are you ready?" Peeta asks me. I seemed to have lost my voice, so I just nod. The door to the hovercraft opens and we walk out. The real sun seems blinding since its been so long since I have been outside. I close my eyes and let Peeta lead the way. We walk for a few minutes until we reach a door. The soldier in front of us opens it and ushers us inside. I finally open my eyes.

District 13 is about as plain as you can get. I already know I will hate it. The walls are a light dove grey and the floor is a darker shade of it. As we walk down the halls I notice that everything seems to be the same. Every few feet theres a greenish grey door that enters into a different room. I know I will get lost easily here. Finally, after ten minutes of walking, we finally make it to where we need to go. The soldier opens the door and we walk inside. I look around and almost cry in relief. My mother and Prim are sitting not ten feet in front of me.

"Katniss!" Prim yells. She runs over to me and engulfs me in a hug. I wrap my arm around her, my other hand still holding onto Peeta's.

"Hey little duck" I tell her in a soothing voice. She started to cry.

"I thought I would never see you again!" she tells me, "after they didn't let us say goodbye, I thought it was all over with. I'm so glad your here, Katniss." She finally stops crying and returns to her seat. I walk over, dragging Peeta along and sit next to her while Peeta occupies the chair next to me. I look around the rest of the room. I see Gale. He starts walking over to me. I stand up and give him a one armed hug, like with Prim.

"Hey Catnip" he tells me, I nod into his chest. I unwrap my arm from around him and sit back down on my chair.

"Hi Gale" I finally manage to say. He smiles really big at me and then he stops. I wonder why? I follow his gaze down to Peeta and I's intertwined hands. Even though I want to take my hand out of his, I just can't seem to. I look over to Peeta, I noticed he's been quiet.

"Wheres Peetas family?" I ask everyone. They all look down.

"Well, um.." Gale starts to speak, but Prim finishes it.

"They are in District 12" she says while looking at her feet. Peetas head snaps up.

"Well, why aren't we?" he asks everyone. My mother sighs, she was so quiet it was like she wasn't even there.

"Peeta, sweetie, there is no District 12" she tells him in a calm voice. Peetas grip on my end loosens and he runs out of the room. I gasp and try to follow him. Gales arm blocks me.

"Just leave him alone for a little while" Gale says, "why do you even care?" I look at Gale angrily.

"Can we talk?" I ask him angrily. I look around the room. "Alone." Gale nods and tries to take my hand to lead me down the hall. I rip my hand away. "I'm fine." I tell him. He nods and walks me down the hallway and into a deserted room. When we get there I turn and slap Gale across his face. He steps back for a moment surprised.

"Whats your problem?" he asks angrily.

"Why were you looking angrily at Peeta and I?" I ask angrily. He sighs and runs his hands through his hair.

"I say the footage from on the hovercraft" he tells me, "why were you so worried about him. You told me yourself it was all an act." My face falls. I did say that.

"Maybe, it wasn't just an act" I say softly. I run out of the room. I run until i bump into someone. Its Peeta.

"Whats wrong?" he asks concerned. I have started crying into his chest. Why was I so afraid to love him?

"Just hold me" I say. He wraps his arms around me and holds me close.

"Always" I hear him say.


	3. Chapter 3

I shoot up in bed and start crying as the memories come back.

* * *

_I wake up in a hovercraft. I look around and see Beetee laying next to me, unconscious. I freak out momentarily thinking that we were captured by the Capital. I get out of bed slowly and make my way to the door. I press the button to open it and slowly walk out. I make my way down the hall and start to hear some muffled voices. _

_"How should we tell her?" I hear someone ask, I can immediately tell that its Finnick._

_"When she wakes up just tell her the truth, she'll get over it. She probably won't even care" I hear someone else say, it sounds like Johanna. Deciding its safe I walk into the room. _

_"Well look who finally got up" Haymitch says sarcastically. I look around the room and notice that only Finnick, Johanna, and Haymitch are there. _

_"Wheres Peeta?" I ask quickly. Finnick and Johanna look away, obviously not wanting to say anything. Haymitch sighs and tells me._

_"The Capital has him" those words alone made my world shatter around me._

* * *

I look around the room and see that I'm alone. I jump out of my bed and run to the door. When I open it I see Peeta on the other side about to open it. I fall into his arms and hold onto his shirt for dear life. I start crying again.

"Shhhh, its ok Katniss" Peeta says softly in my ear. It just makes me cry harder.

"Y-y-you left m-me" I say shakily. He holds me tighter.

"Its ok, I'm here, your okay" he says soothingly in my ear. He pulls me back into my room and lays me back down on the bed. "Just go back to sleep" he tells me softly. He starts to leave the room, but I grab his arm.

"Don't leave me" I whisper shakily. He nods and crawls into the bed with me. I turn around and lay my head on his chest. "Just stay with me" I tell him.

"Always" I hear him say before I fall back to sleep.

* * *

A few hours later I wake up again. This time Peetas holding me close. I smile softly and snuggle closer to him. I lay there for a few minutes watching Peeta sleep. I sighed realizing how much I didn't deserve him. Soon Peetas breath hitches and I know he's about to wake up. His eyes softly flutter open and he looks down at me.

"Well, good morning" he says quietly. I smile up at him.

"Good morning to you too" I tell him. I daringly lean up to peck him on the lips. He smiles back down at me, but I can tell he's shocked. Theres a loud knock on the door. Before I can do anything Peeta gets up to answer it. When he opens the door I'm surprised to see who's on the other side.

Its Gale.

He looks furious. "What the hell?!" he yells. I cower down in the sheets and Peeta comes back over to me. I runs a reassuring hand down my back and I melt into his touch.

"What do you want Gale?" I ask angrily, he was ruining my perfectly good morning. He looks like he's about to throw something.

"What is he doing here?" he points an accusing finger at Peeta. I sigh and get up to stand by Peeta.

"Gale" I say as calmly as I can, "I have already told you that I love Peeta and that you are only a friend. How many times do I have to tell you this. I'm sorry that I don't feel the same way, but I just don't. I'm sorry." I know he's going to hate me for this- wait, what? Did I just admit that I love Peeta. For some reason, I don't want to take it back. Gale looks like he's going to blow a fuse.

"Your lying" he says indifferently, "he's making you say this. You don't love him, you just told me that you weren't acting with the having feelings for him. I don't believe that you love him. You love me and you always have. Please, just come with me and I will take you away from all of this." I shake my head at him, my anger is bubbling over. I can't hold my tongue anymore. I am the girl on fire anyway. Before I can say anything, Peeta beats me to it.

"Gale" he tries to say as calmly as he can, "I think that Katniss has made her decision. Why won't you leave her alone. Its obvious that she doesn't have feelings for you. Why won't you let it go?" I'm shocked to hear Peeta say that. He's always nice to everyone. Apparently not to Gale, I think with a smirk. I look up at Peeta and give him a peck on the lips. Gale huffs in annoyance.

"This isn't over Catnip" he tells me while glaring at Peeta. He turns and walks out of the room, slamming the door on his way out. I sob into Peetas chest.

"Do you really mean it?" he asks me quietly. I look at him confusedly.

"Mean what?" I ask. He sighs.

"That you, um, love me?" he asks in a small voice. I smile up at him.

"Yes Peeta, I love you" I tell him honestly.

"I love you too" he tells me, I look up at him. He leans down and kisses me.

For once in my life, I know every things going to be alright.

**Hey everyone! I hope you liked this chapter. I have been trying to update, but I had school. We are on break so I'm going to post a couple more chapters before its over. So anyway I have had some PM's with people asking me to make it a trilogy. So, I will. I'm going to make each story at least 50 chapters. So thanks for you support everyone! So review please!**


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning I wake up in Peeta's arms. In that moment I knew this is where I always wanted to be. He was spooning me and had his arm wrapped around me protectively. I lay there quietly willing my body to let me go back to sleep, but I couldn't. I roll over in his arms, trying my best not to wake him up, so I could see his face. When he's sleeping he looks so young. Like the boy who threw me that bread on that fateful day, not a person that survived two Hunger Games. After a few minutes of just lying there I see his eyes fluttering open. He looks down at me and smiles.

"Good morning, beautiful" Peeta says with a yawn. I smile up at him.

"Good morning" I say then look at the clock in the corner, "or should I say afternoon." That makes him laugh and get out of bed. I gasp, sometime during the night he lost his shirt and he's standing there in just shorts. My eyes go to a very inappropriate place. I look away a second letter. I get up with him and walk over to him. To my distaste he put his shirt back on.

"So, do you exactly know where we are?" I ask, I mean I did wake up in the room multiple times. Peeta looks down at me and smiles. I can't help it, I reach up on my and kiss him on the lips. I hear him gasp, but kiss me back none the less. When we stop we both have smiles on our face.

"Well, before you interrupted me" Peeta says with a laugh, "I was going to tell you that I do in fact know where we are. We are in your quarters." My quarters?

"What about my mom and Prim?" I ask worriedly.

"They are down the hall" he says with a sigh. I wonder why until I realized what we learned yesterday.

"I'm so sorry" I say to him and he looks down at me like I'm insane.

"For what?" he asks confusedly. I sigh, but I can still feel the cries coming on. Almost immediately Peeta wraps his arms around me. I let out a good cry. When I'm finally able to get myself under control I tell him.

"Your family" I choke out, the words alone make me cry even harder. Peeta holds me tighter and kisses the top of my head.

"You know its not you fault" he tells me, I already know, but I still feel bad about it. "Can we change the subject?" he asks. I nod into his chest. "How about we go get some food, I don't know about you, but I'm starving" he says with a laugh. I can't help but be happier. His laugh always has the effect on me.

"Sounds good to me" I say and realize that I'm starving. I look over to the clock and see that its almost 5 o'clock. "When do they stat dinner?" I ask, he seems to know more about the district than I do. He looks over to the clock as well.

"Well, right about now" he says with a smile. I take his hand and he leads me down the grey hall and to a giant room, which I can tell his the cafeteria. We walk over to a long line and wait out turn. When we finally get up there and get our food I notice that its as bland as everything else. Its so brown much, which I'm guessing could be oatmeal, some white milk, and some fruits and vegetables. I sigh. This is probably all we can get for a while.

"Delicious" I hear Peeta mutter under his breath. I laugh and he turns to me and smiles. We look around the room for a place to sit and see my family. I drag Peeta over there and we sit down.

"Hi" I say to everyone. They all say hi back. Its my mom, Prim, Gale (uhh!), Johanna, and Finnick. I look over to Gale and wonder why he's here. I wave it off and start eating my food. Its not bad honestly, but that doesn't mean I love it. For a few minutes everyone just sits quietly and eats. Gale, sadly, was the one to break it.

"Catnip" he says, I cringe at the name, "can we talk?" I look over at Peeta and he nods for me to go. "Sure" I say, albeit reluctantly. Before I get up I give Peeta a small kiss on the lips and pull away with a smile, he's smiling too. I can hear Prim say 'awwwwww' and I roll my eyes. I give Peetas hand one last squeeze before I follow Gale to a deserted room a little ways off from the cafeteria.

"What?" I snap once he closes the door. He sighs and runs his hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry" he says and tries to move closer to me. I back away.

"I know you are" I tell him. He looks surprised.

"Actually, what I meant to say was I'm sorry that you have been acting like a bitch" he tells me angrily. I'm seething mad. How dare he! I do the first thing my mind can think of. I slap him hard across the face.

"What the hell?" he asks while cradling his cheek.

"Who do you think you are?" I ask, "can't you just be happy for me?" Gale shakes his head.

"Its me or him" Gale tells me, "you can either be with me or him." I'm shocked, but I answer quickly. I walk over to the door about to open it when I answer.

"Peeta."

**Hey! I only got 1 review last chapter! I won't update unless I get at least five each chapter. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. Oh, and fair warning, if you like Gale then this story isn't for you. Review please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow, just wow guys. There is 29 reviews and only 5 chapters. How is that possible? Oh yeah, you awesome people gave me them. Only a few people had bad reviews. So, excuse me, but if you have a problem with my story, then don't read it. Go be rude and hate someone else's story, leave mine alone. A lot of you were really nice with your reviews. So, heres the next chapter!**

_"Peeta."_

I dare to look up at Gale and see that he's seething mad.  
"What?" he asks in an angry tone. If I were anyone else it would have scared me. But, I'm the girl on fire.

"You heard me" I snap. I instantly regret it because he raises his hand high like he was going to slap me. But, before he can make a move I bring my hand back and punch him square in the face. He takes a step back, obviously shocked. When he regains his posture he takes a step towards me.

"Why you little-" he gets cut off by someone flying past me and tackling him to the ground.

Its Peeta.

"Don't you dare touch her" Peeta growls. He pinned Gale down so he couldn't get up.

"What are you going to do about it bread boy?" Gale asks in an angry, mocking tone. Peeta laughs in his face.

"Please enlighten me, who's on the floor right now?" Peeta asks sarcastically. Gale spits in his face, but Peeta easily dodges it.

"Fuck you" Gale spits.

"Thats nice."

Gale tries to get at Peeta, but his hands are pinned down by Peeta's feet. He tries to kick him, but Peetas too far away for him to do anything.

"Katniss will be mine, bread boy" Gale says and turns to wink at me. I internally barf.

"Not in this lifetime" I tell him honestly. Gale actually looks a little hurt. I laugh at him. If it were any other situation I would have felt bad, but not now. When Gale finally stops struggling, Peeta gets off of him. Gale immediately jumps up and brushes himself off. But, before he could do anything Peeta stops him.

"Now, you better leave her alone or next time your going to the hospital" Peeta warns. Then he takes my hand and takes me away from the room. I follow him and we walk down the hall while Peeta reins in his anger.

I grab his hand and run reassuring circles on his hand with my thumb. It calms him down a little bit, but not enough. Stupid Gale ruining things. Peeta pulls me in a room I haven't seen before. I guessed it was his. He lets go of my hand and sits on the bed in the far corner. I slowly make my way over to him and I see he has his head in his hands.

"Peeta?" I ask gently. I gingerly take a seat next to him and draw circles with my finger on his back. Its seems to call him down because he takes his head out of his hands and wraps his arms around me.

"I'm sorry" he says almost inaudibly. I look up at him shocked.

"For what?" I ask confused. He sighs and uses one of his hands to run his hands through his hair.

"Sometimes I feel like I'm holding you back. You could be in the cafeteria right now, laughing and joking with your friends and family. You could be hanging out with Gale. I just-I'm sorry" Peeta says. He says that last sentence quietly.

"Peeta Mellark" I say forcefully and grab his face so hes looking at me, "I love you more than anything. You aren't holding me back from anything. You have made me better. You make me feel better than Gale ever could" I say honestly. A small smile forms on his face.

"Really?" he asks in a shy voice. I giggle and kiss him soundly on the lips. We both deepen it and my tongue seemingly having a mind of his own begs for entry into Peeta's mouth. He happily obliges. After a few minutes we pull away. If that was what making out was like, then I loved it.

"I love you" he says honestly.

"I love you too" I tell him. We seal it with another kiss.

**I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I got a new job and I have been busy. I will try to update more often. Enjoy! And as always….Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Well hello! Sorry haven't really updated in a while. So heres an extra long chapter, just for you! Oh and thanks to the reviewer who congratulated me on my new job. Anyway enjoy!**

**1 month later.**

I wake up with a jolt, it all felt so real.

_The Capital had taken Peeta and me. They made me watch as they injected tractor jacker venom inside of him. He screamed in agony each time they inserted the needle. I fought against my bounds and tried to help him. He started screaming angry things at me. Calling me a mutt and other awful things. I cried silently, how did this happen? They finally let him go. I was sure he would run and untie me. Well, he did run._

_"Peet-" I started to say his name, when his hands wrapped around my throat and started to squeeze._

"Katniss!?" Peeta yells at me worriedly. He had started sleeping with me every night because I had frequent nightmares every night. It had gotten so bad that the neighbors started complaining. "Katniss?" he asked again, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Its ok, Peeta" I lie, "just go back to sleep." He shakes his head.

"Not going to happen" he tells me firmly, I sigh and lay back down with my head on his chest.

"It was so real" I say quietly, I look up at him, he's nodding his head wanting me to continued. Tears fill my eyes at the memory. "The-the Capital had u-us and they were in-injecting you with tracker ja-jacker venom and you went crazy and-and y-you tried t-to k-kill m-me" I'm sobbing by the time I finish. Peeta holds me, if possible, tighter. He kisses the top of my head.

"Thats never going to happen, I would never do that to you. I _could_ never do that to you" Peeta promises me. I nod into his chest. Then I slowly reach up and kiss him soundly on the lips. He immediately responds and puts his hands in my hair, I do the same to him. I roll over and straddle him, never breaking our kiss. We both have never made the physical step in our relationship. We were waiting, but I think tonight would be the night. When we have to pull away to breathe we hastily shred each others clothes.

That night, we gave each other ourselves. When, hours later, we finally collapse in a mess of sweat, tangled sheets, and intertwined limbs, I can't even begin to count how many 'I love you's were shared between us. I am sure that this, right now, is the very highlight of my life, the happiest I have ever been. And it's all thanks to the blonde baker who I am currently lying on top of. He treated my body and me with such tender love and care, it was like he thought I would break. I wasn't really sure if I was doing the right things to Peeta, but by the way he was moaning my name and the looks on his face, I must have done something right.

"I love you" Peeta says one last time before we start to doze off.

"I love you too" I say back before we both fall asleep.

* * *

The next morning I woke up and was confused. I was naked and laying on top of Peeta. Then, the memories fled into my mind and a small smile formed on my face. I could hands down say that it was the best night of my life. Last night, Peeta and I gave each other away. I hear Peeta's breath hitch and I can tell he's waking up.

"Good morning, beautiful" Peeta says while smiling down at me. I smile back.

"Good morning" I say, then I lean up and kiss him soundly on the lips. When I pull back he looks at me worriedly.

"Do you regret last night?" he asks in a small voice. I kiss him on the mouth, momentarily slipping my tongue in his mouth.

"Never" I whisper against him lips. He smiles at me and I can't help but smile back. I lean in for another kiss when there is a loud banging on the door. "Ugh" I say and reluctantly get off of Peeta and make my way to the door.

"Katniss?" he calls out. I turn around.

"What?" I ask. He smirks at me.

"Well, I don't think you want to answer the door like that" he laughs. I look down and realize that I'm naked. I smile at him and grab his shirt off of the floor. Its long enough to cover my thighs. I pull on a pair of panties and walk back over to the door. I open it and on the other side is Gale. he's been keeping his distance lately, but I expected him to come over eventually.

"Hi Catnip" Gale says in an even tone.

"Don't call me that" I snap. He doesn't even deserve any kindness from me.

"I came here to-" he doesn't finish his sentence. He takes in my appearance. I pull down Peeta's shirt and little bit more over my thighs. Gale obviously notices. His face turns beat red. "WHAT THE HELL?!" he asks throwing his hands at me.

"What?" I asks. I'm just wearing Peeta's shirt and oh. Before Gale can say anything I hear Peeta's voice.

"Baby, who's at the door?" he asks coming up from behind me. He's only wearing his boxers and no shirt. When he notices Gale he wraps his arms around me and glares at him. "What are you doing here?" he asks him in a calm but angry voice.

"I could ask you the same thing" Gale sneers.

"Oh, you know what does it look like?" Peeta asks motioning to our half naked bodies. I can't help but blush. Gale looks like he wants to hit someone.

"Well, I was going to apologize and see if we can stay friends" Gale explains angrily, "but if your too busy fucking bakery boy then don't mind me." I want to slap him. I like that he was going to apologize, but right now I'm not sure if I would accept it.

"You know what Gale?" I yell, "fuck you! All you have done since we got to 13 was make me miserable. This whole month in 13 was the happiest I have been in a while. You know why? Its because you left me alone! Peeta and I were perfectly happy together. Sure, in the games at first it was an act. But, in the Quarter Quell when we were about to blow up the arena, we sat on the beach and talked. Peeta wanted me to live and go back home to marry you. He said no one would need him anyway. But, I do! In that moment I knew I loved him, correction, I love him. So leave me alone!" I'm close to sobbing by the time I finish my rant. Peeta and Gale stand there speechless.

"Leave" Peeta says in a steady voice and points to the door. Gale runs out of the room sheepishly. When he's gone I pull Peeta back to the bed and we lay down.

"You truly love me?" he asks in a small voice. I look at him and lean up to kiss him deeply on the mouth.

"Always."

**Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I made an extra long chapter for you! So read and review. Oh, and this isn't the last we will see of Gale. I have never liked him. He kept trying to make a move on Katniss while Peeta was recovering. Thats awful. Anyway bye! And don't forget to review!**


	7. Chapter 7

"I want to take you on a ate."

My mind doesn't process it that fast. A date? I have never been on a real date before. He takes my silence as a no.

"We don't have to" he quickly backtracks, "I just thought it would be fun and-" I cut him off with a kiss.

"I would love to go on a date with you" I say when I pull away. The smile that takes over his face is worth it. I think of something and laugh, "where are you suppose to take me on a date?" We both share a laugh. The district is so strict, we probably can't even go outside.

"I'll figure something out" Peeta manages after our laugh.

"We should probably get dressed" I say while looking down at our naked bodies. After Gale left Peeta made love to me multiple times.

Peeta shakes his head. "Not until after this" and with that he pulls me back on top of him.

Not that I resisted much.

After a few hours we finally make it to breakfast. It was a good thing we woke up early. We would have missed it. We walk hand in hand down to the line and wait for our turn. When we get our food I sigh.

"This sucks" I say while poking at my food. There was a bit of oatmeal and a piece of bread. Even the oatmeal back in 12 looked at least a little appetizing. This kind was a deep gray mush. Kind of like everything else here in 13. The bread was soggy and grey also. There was also a cup of water off to the side. Thats about the only thing we drink around here.

"I know" Peeta sighs. He hates this place and everything about it as much as I do. We make our way over to the table that we usually sit at. Finnick, Johanna, Haymitch, my mother and Prim sit there waiting for us. Surprisingly, Gale sits at the end of the table, forcefully stabbing at his oatmeal.

"Why hello there brainless" Johanna says using her favorite nickname for me. She was kind of hesitant to stay in 13 at first. But, I had convinced her to do it. I told her she would be safe here. Hopefully.

"Hello to you too" I reply with a smirk. Her and I have become friends over the last month and it hasn't been too bad. You just have to get over the small little digs.

The rest of breakfast is filled with quiet conversation, until a soldier came up behind us.

" , , ?" he asked.

"Yes" Peeta and I said at the same time. Gale nods. We were probably both wondering why he was here and why he didn't call us by our regular names. We also wondered why he asked for Gale too.

"Your wanted in command by President Coin" he explains, "please follow me." Peeta and I look at each other hesitantly, but we both get up and follow him. Gale was standing in front of us and we reluctantly followed him. I grabbed Peeta's hand and laced our fingers together.

I tried to keep count of all of the turns we took, but gave up after a few minutes. I just snuggled closer to Peeta and followed the soldier and Gale.

When we get to command I see there are three seats left, right next to eachother. Peeta takes one of the seats and Gale takes one on the other side. Theres still a seat in the middle, but theres no way I'm sitting next to Gale. So I plop down on Peeta's lap lean back onto his chest. He's obviously surprised at first, but he wraps his arms around me nonetheless. I look over to Gale and he's glaring at Peeta jealously. Ha.

A few minutes later Alma Coin enters the room. She takes the time to glare at me sitting in Peeta's lap. She turns away quickly though. She points to the tv in the corner. It has the names of all of the districts. There are two columns. One column has the districts that are on our side so far and the other column has the districts that aren't. I'm surprised to learn that more than half the districts are on our side. Coin's voice breaks me from my thoughts.

"As you can see, the war is progressing fine" she explains in a serious voice. She glances at me again. Whats her problem? I take a chance and look over to Gale. He's staring at Peeta still, anger and jealousy still on his face. I direct my eyesight over to Coin and she's still looking at me.

"What?" I snap. I know I shouldn't, and Peeta senses it. I rubs my arm soothingly.

"Don't upset her" he whispers in my ear. I know he's right and I lean into him some more. Coin has started glaring at me.

"Did you not hear me ?" Coin asks. I hadn't even realized she said anything. I shake my head and she sighs. "Well, if you weren't busy with , then you would have. Anyway, I said, that we need you to go to District 2 with us to try and get them on our side." I look at her confused.

"Why?" I ask. She looks at me like I'm stupid. I want to smack that look right off of her face.

"Because" she explains, glaring at me, "your the only person I trust to talk to them." I'm surprised, trust me? That must be a joke. But, I don't have any other choice.

"Fine" I mumble. I feel Peeta tense up under me.

"If Katniss is going, then I'm going" he says seriously. "Thats not going to be up for discussion." My heart swells at the thought. He really, really cares about me. I turn my head and give him a peck on the cheek.

"Fine" Coin huffs out. "If thats all, then you are all dismissed." She leaves the room and everyone follows. Eventually Gale, Peeta, and I are the only ones left. I get off of Peeta's lap and stretch out. Gale stands up to and takes a step closer to me. Peeta quickly gets up and takes my hand.

"Are you ready for your date?" Peeta asks. I look at him confused, then I remember him wanting to take me on a date. I kiss him sweetly on the lips, forgetting Gale was here.

"Yes, , I am ready for our date" I smile. Peeta's smile gets even bigger. I hear Gale clear his throat, making his presence known.

"What?" Peeta asks, while glaring at Gale.  
"I want you both to know that I'm going to 2 with you" he says with a smirk. I gasp.  
"Why?" I ask angrily. Peeta takes his hand out of mind and rubs circles on my back. It calms me down a little, but not much.

"Did you really think I was going to let you go alone, baby" he says in a soft voice that makes me want to throw up.

"Don't call me baby, I wont ever be your baby. I can protect myself fine, and with what I can't do, Peeta will be with me" I sneer. Peeta puts his arms around my waist. I lean back into him. Gale actually looks a little hurt, but he regains his posture.

"I just want you to know, that I enjoyed our kiss the other night" he sneers. I gasp. We didn't kiss. I would never kiss him. The only time we kissed was when he kissed me and I didn't kiss back. I feel Peeta tense up, and his arms loosen and unwrap from around me.  
"Gale" I say, using all of my power not to punch him, "we never-" I get cut off by Peeta.

"You-you kissed him?" he asks in a broken voice. Before I can deny Gale cuts me off.

"Of course she did. She says that you didn't even know how to kiss and she wanted to know what it felt like to actually kiss someone the right way" Gale smiles and tries to take my hand, but I rip my hand away. I turn around, expecting to find Peeta, but he's gone.

"You asshole!" I scream at him. He takes a step back surprised. "You and I have never kissed, except for that one time! And you know what!? You don't even know how!" I start crying and Gale tries to comfort me, but I push him away. "Leave me alone before I kill you" I threaten. I can hear him back up and walk away. I sit there for a long time just crying.

Eventually, I get up and run to my room. When I reach the door, I stop short. This is Peeta's room. Not mine. I knock on the door and after a few seconds he opens it. I take one look at his face and break down. His eyes are red and he looks like death. Before I can say anything he speaks up.

"If your here to make me feel worse then leave" he says in a quiet, broken voice. I get up and run away.

_Why is everything a mess?_

**Don't hate me! They have to get in fights sometimes. They are human. This is what happens. Will Peeta still go to 2 with her. Or, will he just let her go with Gale? All of this and more will be explained in the next chapter. Anyway, review!d**


	8. Chapter 8

**Special surprise! This chapter is in Peeta's POV. Some of you guys wondered why he actually believed Gale. This should tell you way. Enjoy!**

When Gale had said he and Katniss had kissed, my world had suddenly ended. I know I shouldn't have believed him, but I did.

I'm so stupid. I ruined the best thing in my life, over what Gale said. _Gale_. That son of a bitch. He and Katniss are probably slumming it up and-.

I shouldn't think things like that. He was the one that lied. He is the one Katniss and I hate. He is the one that ruined my life.

The reason that I truly believed him was because of how Katniss had treated me when we first officially met. She was weary of me at first. I expected as much, if you knew her you would understand. She started to open up more and by the time she started to like me, the Quarter Quell card was announced. I know she did everything to protect me, even though I was sure her heart belonged to Gale. She doesn't know it, but I was there when they kissed the first time. I was so broken over it, that I just dropped it and never told her. So, it was pretty obvious that I would believe him. I wish I could fix it, but she probably hates me now.

I've probably sat in my room for hours just sulking. I know I have missed dinner, but I just can't bring myself to care. There had been some knocks on the door earlier, but I just ignore them. I can't stand to show my face around her.

My Katniss.

Well, I shouldn't call her mine anymore. I made it pretty clear that I didn't want her anymore, even though I really do. Eventually, I think the soldiers have had enough. They had been knocking for a few minutes and I hadn't cared. They typed in the code to get into the room and told me I needed to go to command.

"Why?" I asked. They just told me to go now, but I don't want to go. I don't want to see anyone.

After a few minutes of thinking, I reluctantly follow them down the hall to Command.

Its obvious that we're the last ones here. I look around and lock eyes with Katniss, her eyes light up slightly, and I look away. Sadly, the only chair left his next to Katniss. I sit down as far away as I can. She looks a little upset that I didn't sit closer, but she turns her head and pays attention to what Coin was talking about. I turn and pay attention too.

"Now, we had many volunteers to go to the Capital as soldiers for the final war and now we need the final list of who's going" she explains. I sink down in my chair. I had forgotten this. I look over at Katniss' beautiful profile and knew I had to do anything to help her, and I mean _anything._

"I'll go" I volunteer. A bunch of surprised faces turn my way, but I don't back down. Coin looks over at me, obviously surprised. I dare to take a glance at Katniss' horrified expression. She's slowly shaking her head. Coin looks like she's about to say something, but Katniss beats her to it.

"No" she says firmly. "He's not going-" I cut her off.

"Its my turn" I say. She looks at me confused. "You tried to and did help save me in the arena, now its my turn." I leave no room for conversation. Katniss leans slowly back in her chair, obviously giving up.

"Well then, Peeta, I guess we'll be seeing you there" one of the soldiers said, I remember him, his name is Boggs. Coin nods her approval and continues on with whatever she was babbling on about.

After a few more hours, she finally dismisses us. I'm glad, if I had to sit in this chair any longer I would scream. I'm one of the first to make it to the door and a crowd is behind me as I make my way down to my room. I'm almost there when someone grabs my arm and yanks me into another room.

"What the-" I start to say, until I realize who dragged me in here. It was Katniss.

"Whats your problem?" she asks angrily. I look at her with my mouth open, straining to find the right words. I may be great with words, but sometimes they fail me. "First, you think I'm cheating on you with _Gale_" she spits out his name, "then, you decided to go to the Capital with me, so you can save me? What are you playing at?" I'm taken back to the 74th Hunger Games. When Katniss pushed me against the wall after the interview, when I said I loved her.

"I may be mad, but it doesn't mean I don't care. I still love you. I have a hard time believing you love me back" I sneer. I don't mean to be this rude to her, but I'm pretty upset. She looks at me with evident shock on her face. I try not to say it, but I do. "I saw you kiss him back in District 12" I say quietly. Her mouth pretty much hits the ground.

"Y-you still love m-me?" she asks in amazement. I wrap her up in my arms.

"Of course I do" I whisper. Katniss is silent for a moment before she speaks up.

"What the hell do you mean you saw us kiss?" she asks angrily, and I sigh. I let go of her and start running my hands through my hair, exasperated.

"Well, one day, the day you kissed _him_, I needed to ask you something. So, I asked Prim where you were. She said that you were probably at the Hob. So, I walked over there, and when I was almost there, well, you get it" I say quietly.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" she asks. I snort.

"B-because I love you! I thought that maybe, just maybe, it was a mistake and that you felt bad about it! I thought that maybe, if I didn't say anything, you would still like me and not be mad at me for seeing!" I yell. I back up towards the wall and slide down onto the floor. With my head in my hands I let it all out. I love her! She probably loves Gale! I'm a loser for believing that maybe, I had a real chance! And, now I'm crying in front of the girl who I have loved for years!

I feel her sit next to me and run her hand through my hair.

"I'm sorry for being mad, now I get why you believed him. I'm sorry for being such an ass to you. You don't deserve it" she says glumly. I look up at her shocked. "Can we please forget this ever happened? Please?" she asks. She has her bottom lip sticking out and her eyes are all wide. The sight of her makes me laugh.

"Thats a great idea" I tell her honestly. Daringly, I lean up for a kiss and surprise her. But, almost immediately she starts kissing back. When we pull away we have identical smiles adorning our faces.

"I missed that" she admits. I give her another sweet kiss on the lips.

"Me too."

**Awwwwwwww Everlark! Don't ya just love that stuff. I'm not the best updater, so you will have to be very patient. Anyway, review please!**


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